Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Note that there are many “travel agencies” in Quito that are brokers
for different tour operators and can search around to find availability
among them.
Safari Tours
, admin@safari.com.ec, www.safari.com.
ec, not only has one of the better up-to-date listings, but they are very
helpful as well.
Check out www.EcuadorExplorer.com for travel
information on the Galápagos and Ecuador in
general.
WWW
With regard to specific vessels, you can typically depend on those run
by the recommended operators listed in this section, but check for ref-
erences and make sure you know ahead of time what you will be get-
ting. You can also check with the South American Explorers Club (
/
fax 2-225-228, explorer@seac.org.ec) for yacht-specific comments and
recommendations.
Island-by-Island
Baltra Island
Flying from mainland Ecuador, expect to see nothing be-
low but deep blue ocean for over an hour. As the airplane
begins its descent, the jagged edge of a giant landmass
meets the water's edge. Soon the island comes more into
focus, dry and desert-like in appearance. Cacti seem to appear, but
over 600 miles from anywhere? Welcome to Baltra Island and the
Galápagos Archipelago.
Most travelers enter the Galápagos via the small airport at Isla
Baltra, whichwas developed as aUS airbase in the early 1940s to pro-
tect US interests from a perceived threat from Germany at the Pan-
ama Canal, as well as to prepare US forces en route to battle against
Japan in the South Seas. In fact, Baltra was the largest military base
in all of South America at the time, and created the first large-scale
wave of immigrants from mainland Ecuador and surrounding coun-
tries. They built the infrastructure in record time. Now it is an Ecua-
dorian air base with only remnants of a bygone era.
Just a stone's throw north of Isla Santa Cruz, Baltra is a tiny island
(10 square miles) that is primarily used as a point of arrival and de-
parture for island tours. If you are on a prearranged tour, your host
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